How to help your team overcome failure.

Software development is a tricky business.  The nature of the work is changing so rapidly that what worked eighteen months ago could fail today.  The mercurial world of software development is why the agile reformation started.  We do an outstanding job teaching others the basics of agile.  Unfortunately, we take these essential skills and rub them against the reality of working in a contemporary business environment.  It is a recipe for disillusion and frustration.  As coaches and scrum masters, we must do a better job helping people who join the agile reformation navigate the hills and valleys of the business's fallen world.  

Failure is the ultimate teaching tool.  Each day, a business person confronts failure.  It humbles a person.  It pushes them forward to do better.  Finally, it educates in a way no success can.  We need a way to look at our failures dispassionately to create future success.  When the team fails, the best place to address it is the retrospective.  Create a safe and secure environment for people to discuss the challenge.  It also helps to remind everyone about the retrospective prime directive created by Norm Kerth,

"Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand."

Discuss what happened and how the team could have done things differently.  It is crucial to develop an action plan to address the things the team can control. 

Next, a team should ask if they are facing a constraint with the organization.  For instance, network services must schedule a time to promote code to production servers.  According to Eliyahu M. Goldratt's book, "The Goal, " it is a classic constraint." Understanding the condition of the network services team, the developers can devise ways to exploit the constraint and find ways to mitigate it later.  Exposing and mitigating constraints will empower the team and give them a sense of control.  

Finally, please write down your experiences and review them.  A coach or scrum master should keep a daily log of what they do.  It should feature the high points of each day and the low points.  Look it over each week.  It also serves as a contemporaneous memo you can provide to your leadership so they remain updated on your progress.  Over time, reviewing these reports provides an oral history of the project, and you can apply the theory of constraints to help you see recurring challenges.  

Business is a fallen world.  As a person, you face failure and disappointment regularly.  Your team is going to disappoint you.  We do not say this enough in the agile world.  What defines a team that succeeds over one that suffers, in the long run, is the ability to recognize and overcome previous adversity. To deal with these disappointments, use the power of the retrospective.  Have the team apply the theory of constraints.  Finally, keep a journal of contemporary events to track progress and learning.  

Frustration and disillusionment are natural by-products of leading change.  Do not let that stop you.  The fallen business world can improve, but only if coaches and scrum masters learn to face challenges with an approach that helps them improve. 

Until next time.